An on-and-off Academy Award winning actor, frontman of 30 Seconds to Mars, the band holding the Guinness record for the longest concert tour with 309 concerts, and a tech investor, Jared Leto also seems to have familiarized himself with the bitcoin craze as he has recently joined the growing debate over the nature of cryptocurrency investing.

In an interview with Australian radio station Nova, Leto presented his opinion on the matter, slamming bitcoin investing as gambling. The multi-faceted artist warned future investors against putting their money into bitcoin. He called cryptocurrency investing gambling and speculation, and went on to say that the activity is not something a person who could not afford to lose their money should delve into.

Leto’s comments come at a time when bitcoin and those investing in it are having a bit of a hard time. The virtual currency’s price reached an all-time high of $19,343.04 in mid-December, but growing regulatory pressure from different parts of the world and other factors resulted in its price dropping significantly overnight, spurring fears that any investor’s worst nightmare of a bubble burst could come true. At the time of writing, bitcoin’s price stands at $10,083.85, up slightly from earlier today when it tumbled to $9,748.53.

While we cannot say whether Leto’s knowledge is extensive enough, it should be noted that his opinion about the gambling-like nature of cryptocurrency investing is shared by many financial experts and analysts.

Regulators’ Stance on Cryptocurrency Investing

Due to the volatility of bitcoin and altcoins’ prices, investing in these has often been referred to as gambling. The Bank of Canada has recently become the latest financial institution to join the debate over the proper definition of cryptocurrency investing.

In an interview with business news outlet CNBC, Canada’s central bank governor said that bitcoin investing is gambling and not actual investing. The official further pointed out that the Bank of Canada will be working with regulators from different parts of the world for crafting regulations aimed to put limitations on certain aspects of cryptocurrency investing and trading.

While digital currencies and investing in those are considered a form of gambling by many, actual gambling regulators have pointed out that they have no authority over the regulation of the activity. The Netherlands Gaming Authority was one such regulatory body to comment on the matter. The regulator said in a statement that under the country’s current gambling regulations, cryptocurrency investing cannot be defined as any form of gambling and it thus does not fall under its purview.

The Actual Link between Cryptocurrencies and Gambling

The potential of digital currencies has been spotted by the global gambling industry. A number of online gambling operators have added cryptocurrency transactions to their lists of available payment options, and many more are expected to follow suit. Generally speaking, cryptocurrencies allow a relative anonymity, cutting out banks and other third-party financial institutions.

The UK Gambling Commission has been among the regulators to acknowledge the use of bitcoin and altcoins for gambling-related transactions, as long as these are conducted between UK gambling customers and UK-licensed operators. However, the regulator has warned of the risks of transactions of this type.

The decision of the Department of Internal Affairs to give the nod to a three-way Tokoroa gambling venue merger could be put into jeopardy. Colin Bridle, who is known as a long-time anti-poker machine lobbyist and a social worker in Torokoa, spoke at the South Waikato open public forum organized by Mayor Jenny Shattock and […]

The WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship completed one more day on its schedule. It can be said that for yet another year, the event proved utter success with its high attendance.

The tournament attracted a field of 1,244 entries who put the guaranteed prize pool of $3 million well in the rear. After registration closed at the end of Level 2 on Day 2, organizers announced that as many as 156 lucky players will split a prize pool of $3,967,000.

Day 2 of the tournament, played on Tuesday at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, kicked off with 548 hopefuls from the two starting flights. Two hundred and so more players joined them at the poker tables, taking advantage of the late registration option.

As it happens during WPT Main Tour Main Events, it was an action-packed day. By the time all scheduled levels were completed, the start-of-the-day field was reduced to just 159 contenders. In other words, the remaining field is just three eliminations away from bursting the money bubble.

A.J. Kelsall ended up as the overnight chip leader with a stack of 768,500 in chips. Here it is interesting to note that the player managed to build that stack from a start-of-the-day one worth around 38,000.

More about the Chip Leader

Kelsall boasts live poker bankroll of more than $1 million, cashed over the course of nearly 17 years and from more than 100 live tournaments. The Florida resident entered the Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship fresh from a fifth-place finish in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open WPTDeepStacks $1,100 Main Event, from which he collected $56,239.

As mentioned earlier, Kelsall entered Day 2 of the WPT Borgata event with 38,000 in chips, which he multiplied into the largest stack at the end of the day. The player told WPT staff after play concluded for the day that he managed to win several extremely important hands that brought him 50,000 or 100,000, or even more. In addition, he did not lose any big hands throughout the day, which further helped him cement his position on top of the leaderboard.

Of his poker preferences, Kelsall said that he plays a little bit of everything, but does not think to be excelling in any of the different poker games. He further noted that he has been playing No-Limit Hold’em for quite some time now and that he does not enjoy it as much as he used to before. He named triple draw and razz some of his favorite poker games and noted that he enjoy playing these at the WSOP.

Day 3 action at the Borgata is slated to resume at noon local time. Organizers will fire things up by bringing in the Action Clock. As mentioned above, the money bubble is expected to burst shortly after the beginning of play. Min-cashes start from $6,129. As for the winner, they will cash $651,928 from the event.

Major casino companies have registered interest in participating in a project for the construction of a A$1-billion integrated resort in the city of Cairns, the Queensland government said earlier today.

The Global Tourism Hub scheme was introduced last fall. It involves the construction of a multi-purpose complex with a casino as well as a number of accommodation, food and beverage, retail, and entertainment facilities. Under the original proposal, the resort could be built on a four-hectare state-owned site at the city’s port. However, MPs said last year that it can technically be located anywhere within a 70-kilometer radius from Cairns.

The Queensland government opened a Registration of Interest process on October 30, 2017, and interested parties had up until January 23 to submit their responses.

It became known earlier today that over 12 registrations were submitted, and some of them came from several globally renowned casino operators. The government said that it would not reveal the applicants for commercial-in-confidence reasons. However, it pointed out that registrations included a mix of state, national, and foreign casino brands.

Local media reported that officials were encouraged by the overwhelming interest in the A$1-billion project, particularly given the fact that some of the world’s biggest casino companies have submitted their registration of interest responses. MPs told media that their exceeded expectations were a good indication that their choice of Queensland’s Tropical North as the preferred home to the future development was the right one.

The proposal for the development of the Global Tourism Hub came as part of the Queensland government’s efforts to further boost the state’s tourism industry, which is believed to be worth A$25 billion and to be employing 200,000 people.

Who Might Have Registered Interest?

While the Queensland government has decided against naming the operators that were interested in building a casino as part of the Global Tourism Hub, we believe that Las Vegas giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. may be one of these. Last spring, the company revealed plans for geographical expansion. It said that it would explore opportunities to enter new markets once its main operating unit emerged from bankruptcy.

What is more, reports emerged last June that Caesars was interested in entering the Queensland casino market through a partnership with Chinese-backed group of investors ASF Consortium, which was picked by the government to develop the A$3-billion Gold Coast Integrated Resort. Several months later, the government rejected the plan, citing environmental concerns and general discontent among Gold Coast residents.

Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp may be another operator to have registered interest in the Global Tourism Hub scheme. Casino News Daily reported last August that the company, which currently operates the NagaWorld Hotel & Entertainment Complex in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, had set eyes on Cairns as a potential destination for its international expansion.

With the conclusion of the Registration of Interest process, the Queensland government is set to launch an Expression of Interest process for interested parties. It is also important to note that the government also undertook a community consultation last year. Members of the public are able to voice their opinion on the Cairns project until February 11, 2018.

The flourishing Internet gambling market of New Jersey could get even larger. Two new Atlantic City casinos which are set to open in 2018 have been considering whether to offer online gambling services to their customers. The owners of the former Revel Casino Resort, now Ocean Resort Casino, and the ones of the former Taj […]

The Sweden-based online gambling operator Betsson recently made an announcement which is going to impact the lives of hundreds of people around Europe. The company stated that in order to boost the efficiency of operation it would have to lay off as many as 160 employees. The main reason for the change s which would […]

Future Gambling Location Resorts World Catskills Employs Upstate New York Businesses for Construction

The State of New York is soon going to have its brand new gambling location which goes by the name of Resorts World Catskills. The new casino venue is expected to bring the Las Vegas spirit to the region and introduce a new level of proficiency when it comes to the gambling field in Upstate […]

While PokerStars Team Pro seems to be thinning with each week passing, the case is exactly the opposite with its rival poker operator partypoker and its team of sponsored players. It was announced earlier today that German poker Philipp Gruissem has become the latter poker room’s newest brand ambassador.

The player is joining a growing team of sponsored players, which includes fellow countryman Fedor Holz, among a number of others.

With live tournament earnings of over $11 million, Gruissem is one of his homeland’s most successful poker professionals. And here it is important to note once again that over the past several years, Germany has turned into a superpower in the world of poker thanks to its players who have been dominating high roller fields for the past several years.

Gruissem, in particular, has been quite active on the high roller scene and has taken down an impressive amount of such tournaments, hence his bankroll. The player won his largest cash namely from a high roller event. Back in 2013, he topped the field of the WPT Alpha 8 London £100,000 No-Limit Hold’em, good for £862,400.

A year later, the German took down the EPT Season 10 Grand Final €25,500 High Roller 8-Max for another massive payout of €993,963. The player won the same event in 2017, this time for €485,135. Overall, he has cashed in 54 live tournaments over the course of his poker career, and as it can be seen some of his payouts have been quite impressive.

Gruissem has also been playing online for quite some time. In fact, the player has revealed that he won his first ever online tournament on partypoker under the ‘philbort’ screen name. He has also pointed out that it was this victory (which brought him $200) that encouraged him to learn more about the game and delve deeper into its particularities.

partypoker’s Expanding Team of Ambassadors

As mentioned earlier, the online poker room has expanded its Team partypoker significantly over the past two years, signing poker heavyweights such as Fedor Holz, Jason Koon, Dzmitry Urbanovich, and Kristen Bicknell, and now Gruissem.

On the other hand, PokerStars Team Pro, the team of sponsored players of partypoker’s rival online poker brand, has lost some of its big names. In fact, four players have parted ways with PokerStars since the beginning of the year, with those being Vanessa Selbst, Jason Mercier, Felipe Ramos, and most recently Bertrand Grospellier.

While the players have cited different reasons for their departure, it can be said that many of them have probably decided to end their contracts with the poker room, due to the wave of changes in its rewards program it has been rolling out for the past two years or so. Generally speaking, these changes are aimed at attracting recreational players while poker professionals consider them less friendly.

Isaac Haxton has been one of the most vocal critics of PokerStars’ new policies. The player was part of the poker brand’s Team Pro, but severed ties with it in early 2016, claiming that it had behaved “unethically”. It was announced last week that Haxton has too joined Team partypoker as ambassador for the poker operator.

Second Auction for Solaire Resort and Casino Land in Manila Fails Bringing Negotiated Sale Prospects

The international gambling operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp is willing to explore the gambling industry in the Philippines further and it was recently reported that a subsidiary of the company has filed in its bid to acquire part of the land where Solaire Resort and Casino stands in Manila. It is known that Bloomberry Resorts is […]

Ben Lamb, a two-time WSOP Main Event finalist, triumphed in the Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge in the first hours of Sunday to scoop a payout of A$647,114 and an ANTON Jewellery ring after dominating action on the event’s second day.

Lamb locked the victory after he agreed on a deal with Jan-Eric Schwippert before the beginning of heads-up. The two players shook hands on splitting what had remained of the prize pool based on their chip counts and flipping blind for the ring and the title. Schwippert, one of the members of Germany’s group of high roller elites, collected A$597,765 for his runner-up finish.

The event attracted a field of 114 entries, who created a prize pool of A$2,736,000. The second and final day of the A$25,000 buy-in tournament began with 19 players returning at the tables of Crown Casino in Melbourne. They were led by Taiwanese poker star Kitty Kuo. The female poker pro has performed quite well in Asian-Pacific tournaments over the past several years and was looking for a first major title from the Aussie Millions. The player actually came really close to winning one last night, but eventually finished fourth for one of her career’s best cashes of A$246,240.

As the day progressed, the Day 2 field of 19 players was reduced to the final seven who gathered around an unofficial final table. Schwippert was the chip leader at that point, followed by Lamb. It can be said that action during the final day of the event was marked by these two’s attempts to outrun each other.

Lamb’s Final Move to Victory

As mentioned above, Lamb and his German opponent were the last men standing in the field. Instead of engaging in what could have been a rather long heads-up duel, the two players agreed to split the remaining money and to flip blind for the title.

On the final hand in play, Lamb’s [Qc][Jc] faced Schwipper’s [10s][4h]. The board ran out [2c][9s][3c][3d][7h] to secure Lamb with the title and the champion’s ring.

In his post-victory interview, Lamb said that the six-handed format was his favorite, and he really enjoyed playing the A$25,000 Challenge. At this time of the year, the player usually participates actively in the PCA and skips the Aussie Millions. However, it was a bit different this year. Lamb decided to play in the PCA for just a week, and then he traveled to sunny Australia for Crown Melbourne’s big annual festival.

Including his latest live poker accomplishment, Lamb now has more than $8.8 million in tournament earnings. As mentioned earlier, the player played at the final table of the WSOP Main Event two times. In 2011, he finished third in the massive event, good for $4,021,138. Last summer, Lamb collected $1 million after took ninth place in the $10,000 Championship.

French poker pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has reportedly left PokerStars Team Pro, poker news outlet PokerFuse reported citing unnamed industry sources. The Frenchman thus became the fourth sponsored professional to leave the poker operator’s cluster of stars, who are promoting its brand globally, since the beginning of the year, with Vanessa Selbst, Jason Mercier, and Felipe Ramos being the other three.

While PokerStars is yet to confirm Grospellier’s departure, PokerFuse has pointed out that his picture and bio had been removed from the online card room’s official website. It is also still unknown why ElkY has decided to leave PokerStars’ team of sponsored players, but many would suggest that this might have to do with the multiple tweaks the poker operator has introduced in its rewards program over the past several years.

Many players, who have been playing poker for years, have complained about PokerStars depriving them of privileges they have earned through countless hours of playing. Indeed, the poker room’s focus has recently shifted towards attracting more recreational players to its online poker premises.

Who Is ElkY?

Prior to rising to fame in the poker world, Grospellier had made a name for himself as one of the world’s top eSports players. He then focused his attention to building a poker career. With live tournament earnings of more than $13.5 million, ElkY is his home’s country’s most profitable player of all time.

What is more, the Frenchman is one of the very few players to have accomplished the Triple Crown in poker. To be more specific, he has a WPT, a WSOP, and an EPT title in his massive portfolio of poker accomplishments. In 2008, Grospellier won the $8,000 PCA Main Event for $2 million in prize money. It was also in 2008 when the player won his WPT title. He bested the $15,000 buy-in Festa al Lago for $1,411,015. He has a gold bracelet from a WSOP Seven Card Stud Championship event he won back in 2011.

It is also important to note that ElkY is one of the world’s most accomplished online poker players, playing both in cash games and tournament events. In fact, he was the first online player to reach PokerStars’ Supernova and Supernova Elite statuses.

As mentioned earlier, three other Team PokerStars Pros parted ways with the online poker room since the beginning of the year. In a comprehensive post on Facebook, Vanessa Selbst, the world’s most profitable female poker pro, announced that she was retiring from professional poker to pursue other career opportunities. She thus ended her contract with the card room.

Jason Mercier followed suit, announcing that he had not renewed his contract with PokerStars. The player explained that he plans to spend more time with his wife, Natasha Mercier, who is also a professional poker player, and their newborn son. Judging by his statement, Mercier had parted ways with the poker room quite amicably, pointing out that he had spend wonderful eight and a half years as a sponsored player.

However, Felipe Ramos did not seem to have ended his contract with PokerStars in friendly terms. In a series of tweets, the Brazilian player joined the wave of discontent towards the poker brand’s new priorities.

According to a newly-filed analysis, the state of New York saw a sharp increase in its gaming revenue due thanks to three new casinos’ opening in 2017. On the other hand, the new casinos in the state are now blamed for hurting the competition in the region’s gambling market which has already been pretty much […]

The Aussie Millions Poker Championship is probably the biggest live festival to be taking place in the Southern Hemisphere on an annual basis. Over the years, the event has gained global popularity with the number and diversity of poker events it features and has attracted some of the world’s most popular and highly selective poker players.

This year the major poker series celebrates its 20th anniversary which will certainly elevate the spirits of both organizers and players who are planning to take part in the poker festivities at the host venue Crown Casino in Melbourne. To celebrate the recent start of the 2018 Aussie Millions, Casino News Daily has prepared a short list of some of the largest payouts awarded to players over the past two decades.

Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey previously made history at the Aussie Millions. He became the only player to ever win three A$250,000 Challenges, an event that dropped from the 2018 schedule of the festival due to lack of interest last year.

Ivey won the tournament in 2012, 2014, and 2015, scooping a total of $8.205 million for his three triumphs. The 2012 edition of the event drew 16 entries, who created a prize pool of A$4 million. Ivey collected half of that amount.

In 2014, the popular poker pro took down the largest ever A$250,000 Challenge for A$4 million. The event had 30 entries and 16 re-entries. The massive interest generated a prize pool of A$11.27 million, which made the event the largest one to have taken place over the festival’s twenty years of running.

Erik Seidel

Seidel, yet another of poker’s heavyweights, is too part of the biggest Aussie Millions winners club. The player won the inaugural A$250,000 Challenge in 2011. He collected a nice payout of A$2.5 million for his efforts. It is also important to note that he beat a field of 20 entries.

The poker professional with live tournament earnings of more than $33.5 million also almost won an Aussie Millions Championship. The player finished second in the 2008 edition of the event. He was one of 780 entries to join the event’s field, and eventually made it to heads-up against Russia’s Alexander Kostritsyn. The Russian took down the Main Event, while Seidel scooped A$1 million for his deep run.

Sam Trickett

England’s most profitable poker player has too performed beautifully in several Aussie Millions tournaments over the years. He boasts a A$250,000 Challenge title as well as a A$100,000 Challenge one. Trickett captured his title from the A$100,000 event first.

He took down the high roller tournament back in 2011. The player collected the amount of A$1.525 million. That year’s edition of the A$100,000 Challenge attracted 38 entries for a prize pool of A$3.8 million. The Englishman was also the winner of the 2013 A$250,000 Challenge. The player emerged victorious from a field of 18 participants. His share of the prize pool totaled A$2 million.

Trickett’s current live poker bankroll exceeds $20.8 million. The player had his best cash ever back in 2012, when he finished runner-up to Antonio Esfandiari in the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for ONE DROP.

Biggest Aussie Millions Main Event Winners

Australian players Stewart Scott, Tyron Krost, and David Gorr (pictured) were the ones to collect the largest payouts for winning the Championship event. They took it in that order in three consecutive years, and all three received A$2 million for their accomplishments.

Scoot took down the A$10,000 buy-in tournament in 2010. The player was the last man standing from a field of 746 entries. Krost beat a field of 721 fellow participants the next year. Finally, Gorr took down the event in 2012, emerging the victor from 659 entries.

This year, the A$10,600 Main Event is slated to kick off on Sunday, January 28, with the first of three starting flights. The tournament will be completed on February 4, when the official final table will take place.

The Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Task Force’s Chairman Ronnie Jones revealed a recommendation for the Louisiana Legislature at a meeting of the state’s Gaming Control Board. At the meeting of the local gambling industry regulatory body yesterday, Mr. Jones insisted that the local legislators should allow riverboats to offer land-based slot machines up to […]

The state of New Jersey is worldwide-known for its status of a gambling hub and a location which is constantly on the lookout for new offerings and improvements to the gambling industry. Five years ago the authorities of the state came to the conclusion that casino enthusiasts deserve more when it comes to their gambling […]

The government of Brazil needs to authorize the construction of a certain number of casino resorts across the country in order to boost its tourism, Federal Deputy Paulo Azi said on Wednesday. Mr. Azi presides the Tourism Committee at Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies.

The lawmaker spoke with local media during a Wednesday event celebrating the official launch of electronic visas for Americans. As from today, January 25, American residents will be able to apply for visas to Brazil electronically. In addition, the visa price has dropped to $40 from $160. The government of the South American country has undertaken the move in a bid to attract greater tourist flow from the United States.

The number of US tourists heading to Brazil decreased to 570,000 in 2016, when Brazil hosted the summer Olympics from 657,000 in 2014. The country’s government hopes that the lower visa price and the simplified application process would attract more visitors from the States.

Overall, Brazil welcomed a little over 6.5 million tourists in 2017, or nearly half the number of people who visited Singapore last year. Here it is important to note that the city-state legalized casino gambling in the mid-2000s. It had two operational integrated resorts with casino floors by the turn of the current decade.

Brazil’s Minister of Tourism Marx Beltrão said during yesterday’s event that if they find the right formula for developing Brazil into an attractive tourism destination, this could result in R$170 million being poured into the local economy every year.

Legal Status of Gambling in Brazil

With very few exceptions, gambling is generally illegal in South America’s largest country. For several years now, lawmakers have been considering a sweeping reform that would change Brazil’s gambling regulatory regime drastically and would expand the list of legal gaming and betting activities significantly. However, no gambling expansion proposal has been signed into law so far, despite the efforts.

Two separate gambling bills were introduced in Brazil’s National Congress several years ago, on in the Chamber of Deputies and the other in the Senate. The Senate piece – PLS 186/2014 – has gained more media attention, as it is the one to be calling for massive gambling expansion across Brazil and across all gambling sectors. Generally speaking, the bill provides for the legalization of casino gambling and of online gaming and betting, among other things.

Late last year, the bill stalled in the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Commission and it is yet to be announced when exactly commissioners will be able to finally cast their votes.

The potential legalization of casino gambling in Brazil has drawn the attention of some of the world’s casino powerhouses, including Las Vegas giants Las Vegas Sands and Caesars Entertainment. Reports emerged last spring that Las Vegas Sands CEO and Chairman Sheldon Adelson, in a meeting with Brazilian President Michel Temer, has revealed plans to build an $8-billion casino resort in Rio de Janeiro. Emerging from bankruptcy, fellow casino giant Caesars Entertainment has also said that Brazil has been one of the destinations it would gladly expand its presence to.

The new year is bringing new riveting poker festivals to the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. As the usual location for many poker events, it is going to welcome the winter edition of the Spanish Poker Festival which is returning with larger and more generous guaranteed prize pools and payouts. The official start of […]

The official six-handed final table of this year’s WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship was set last night, and it will be Russian player Aleksandr Shevelev who will lead the pack of six into today’s final day of action.

The player emerged the chip leader for a second consecutive day, although he had his ups and downs throughout Tuesday action at the host casino, Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida.

Ness Reilly took the lead at some point on Day 4 of the $3,500 buy-in tournament and gained quite some pace to increase her advantage. Reilly came fresh from an eight-place finish in the WPTDeppStacks Hollywood Main Event, which took place last week at the same host venue and as part of the larger Lucky Hearts Poker Open festival.

Winning a massive pot, Shevelev managed to narrow the gap that his female fellow player had created, and eventually took the lead to never let go of it throughout the rest of the day. The Russian player bagged and tagged 6.96 million in chips last night, good for 116 big blinds.

Shevelev currently has a little over $22,500 in live tournament earnings. The player has cashed in four live tournaments so far, all of which have taken place at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In other words, a victory in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship could become the young Russian’s debut among poker’s heavyweights.

The player made two in-the-money finishes in this year’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open festival. Being among the final six, the player has locked a six-figure payout from the Championship tournament. Each of the six finalists is guaranteed a minimum cash of $104,784.

The Final Pack of Six

Aside from Shevelev, the official final table also includes former WPT Main Tour Main Event champion Andy Frankenberger, who will enter the final day of play as the short stack with 2.17 million, Alan Krockey (2.81 million), Brett Bader (3.16 million), Darryll Fish (5.92 million), and Ness Reilly (6.295 million).

The six players will return to the host casino at noon Florida time to play down to a champion. And the winner will collect a nice payout of $511,604, which includes an entry fee into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. The WPT announced on Tuesday that the event will take place over May 24-26 at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, with the final table being slated to be played at the newly opened eSports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor Hotel and Casino.

As mentioned above, Andy Frankenberger is the sole surviving WPT Champions Club member in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship. The player won his title back in 2010, when he topped the field of the Legends of Poker $5,000 Championship Event. Apart from his performance in the WPT, the player has also won two WSOP gold bracelets over the course of his career.

Macau is the biggest gambling hub on a global scale and as such, maintaining a high level of security is of utmost importance for the well-being of the customers and guests of the facilities. This Tuesday saw the first emergency response drill which was performed by the police and as it has been confirmed the […]

The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is calling for restrictive measures on bitcoin and altcoins investment and betting on the price of bitcoin at a time when banking firms warn that a bitcoin bubble could dwarf the 1600s Dutch tulip mania.

In an interview with local media outlet de Volksrant, Merel van Vroonhoven, Chairwoman of the AFM, said that while the Authority does not have the capacity to ban or restrict cryptocurrency investment, it can ban “exotic products”, including binary options. Among other things, these allow customers to bet on the price of bitcoin. Ms. Van Vroonhoven said that such a ban might be imminent, due to growing concerns over the risks products of this nature pose to customers.

Citing a recent study, the financial official said that between 74% and 89% of all customers of binary options platforms are losing money with those products, failing to calculate the risks well in advance.

“Investment products are not a game, and bitcoin is not a game.”

The AFM Chairwoman voiced concerns that the difference between binary options and gambling is thinning, and it might disappear completely to members of the younger generation. She further pointed that customers are usually targeted with techniques that very much resemble the online gambling industry’s approaches.

The AFM has warned cryptocurrency investors and binary options customers on multiple occasions over the years, particularly over the past several months and weeks when fears over an eventual burst of the bitcoin bubble intensified.

Kansspelautoriteit ’s Stance on Cryptocurrency Investment

Following requests and inquiries, the Dutch Gambling Authority clarified its own involvement in cryptocurrency investment regulation last week. In a statement, the regulatory body pointed out that it had no role in the regulation of the activity. Kansspelautoriteit further explained that under the country’s current gambling regulations, investment in bitcoin and other virtual currencies does not represent gambling.

The regulator determined its role in the regulation of cryptocurrency investment, or rather its lack of a role, after comprehensive research of the essence of the activity. Kansspelautoriteit pointed out that it was not before it had looked carefully into virtual currencies and the technology behind them that it was able to determine its participation in regulating an activity which is currently very difficult to regulate not only in the Netherlands but also across the globe.

At the time of writing bitcoin’s price stands at $11,034.88, down from its December all-time high of $19,343.04.

In a research letter to bitcoin investors, banking firm Goldman Sachs joined the pack of analysts and financial institutions warning about the risks of cryptocurrency investment. The bank generally praised the technology that powers bitcoin and altcoins, as it offers easy global execution, lower costs of transactions, traceability of all transactions, and so no. However, it pointed out that bitcoin currently does not provide any of these benefits.

British Poker Pro Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane Is on a January Online Winning Streak

In the poker world, players can amass an impressive amount of winnings in a short period of time if they happen to be on a winning big and fast. This happens when Lady Luck smiles upon them and grants them with a bunch of good hands which secure them the top positions on the leader […]

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has agreed to collaborate with Las Vegas casino giants MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts on devising responsible gambling systems for patrons at the two companies’ casinos in the state.

Said systems will allow casino players to set their own spending budgets and to be automatically alerted when they are nearing their preset limits.

Late last week, Massachusetts gaming commissioners approved unanimously the collaborative approach in developing what are hoped to be effective responsible gambling systems at the two casinos over the establishment of such systems through regulatory procedures, which can oftentimes be quite lengthy.

MGM Resorts is entering the final stages of construction of its $950-plus-million casino resort in the Massachusetts city of Springfield. The hotel and casino complex is slated to open doors in September 2018. MGM Resorts has even begun looking for staff for the property.

Wynn Resorts is developing a $2-billion resort along the Mystic River in Everett, Greater Boston. The property will be launched in the summer of 2019. The two resorts will feature Massachusetts’ first full-scale commercial casinos.

The state Legislature approved the proposed casino expansion back in 2013. Four casino licenses were originally supposed to be issued under the new regulations – one for a slots-only parlor and three for full-fledged casinos.

Three licenses were eventually granted to interested operators. The state’s first commercial slots parlor opened doors in 2015.

Responsible Gambling Systems

As mentioned above, Massachusetts’ gambling regulator together with the operators of the state’s commercial casinos will develop systems that will make it possible for casino frequenters to determine how much they want to spend at the venues.

Once they approach their limits, they will be instantly notified and will be able to decide whether they want to continue playing and exceed their preset spending budgets, or they will keep their gambling spending within the limits. Here it is important to note that the responsible gambling systems will be of a voluntary nature, which means that it will be up to players to determine how to manage their casino-intended funds.

In an interview with local news outlet MassLive, Stephen Crosby, Chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said that they will pursue “innovative and aggressive” promotion of responsible gambling and will pay special attention to problem gambling.

Of their non-regulatory approach towards implementing responsible gambling tools across the state’s casino floors, Mr. Crosby said that they considered it quite innovative and that operators were the main force behind it.

The gaming official further noted they believe their collaboration with the two casino companies will make for better evaluation of the two responsible gambling systems for each of the two casinos, for the implementation of adjustments where and when these are needed, and for additional innovative efforts.

The Greek Finance Ministry is reportedly preparing a tender for a consultant that will in turn help in drafting the tender for casino bids for the $8-billion development project at the site of the former Ellinikon International Airport near Athens, local news outlet Kathimerini reported earlier today.

The actual call for tenders for a casino license is expected to be issued in late May or even in late June.

It has also previously been reported that Las Vegas casino giant Caesars Entertainment has expressed interest in operating a casino at the major complex, planned to be built in Elliniko, a southern suburb of the Greek capital, Athens.

Last summer, the Greek government approved the construction of an $8-billion integrated resort at the site of the Elliniko airport. The portion of land had served as Athens’ international airport prior to 2001. It then hosted facilities for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

The project for the site’s redevelopment was brought up by a group of Abu Dhabi and Chinese investors, including Chinese conglomerate Fosun. Its approval came as part of Greece’s privatization program under its bailout deal. Greek contractor Lamda Development also participates in the plan as a local partner.

When Can Construction Begin?

The group of investors cannot begin construction on the multi-billion project before it receives a final approval from the Greece’s Council of State, which acts as the country’s Supreme Administrative Court.

The Council will have to sign off a presidential decree allowing the project’s realization. It is set to begin reviewing the expensive plan on January 29. While it may have require sessions before coming to a final decision, many believe that the court will not be such a big of a hurdle.

Developers aim to have the casino license issued sometime this summer or in the fall. At present, Caesars Entertainment has been the only international casino operator to have expressed interest in operating the casino portion of the complex. However, investors believe that more interested parties will come forward once the call for bids is launched.

Construction work on the Elliniko integrated resort was expected to begin late last year, but bureaucratic hurdles delayed the process. Investors now hope that construction can begin by the end of 2018.

Lamda Development has previously said that more than 10,000 jobs will be generated during construction. Once fully operational, the resort is expected to create over 70,000 jobs during its first five to six years.

As for the casino portion of the scheme, global consultancy firm Deloitte predicts that it could generate gross gaming revenue of €700 million in the long term.

The Greek government recently approved a series of reforms concerning the nation’s casino industry. The Elliniko project investors have welcomed the changes, as they could be favorable for attracting high roller casino players to the resort’s gaming floor.

However, the ambitions of the multi-billion development (touted as one of the largest of its kind in Europe) could also be marred by the construction and opening of Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s Cyprus casino resort in the early 2020s. The Hong Kong-based company is planning to invest €500 million in building a multi-purpose complex with a gaming floor in the Cypriot city of Limassol. Aside from the fact that the Athens and the Cypriot resorts will be located not far from each other, they will also target the same group of casino players – high rollers from the Asia-Pacific region. And this could cause certain competition headaches to owners of the two resorts.

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France Dropping from 2025 World Expo’s Host Race Could Be Good News for Osaka’s Casino Ambitions

France has withdrawn its bid to host the 2025 World Expo, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire confirmed on Sunday in an interview with local news television channel BFM TV. With the country dropping its bid, there are now three candidates for a host of the 2025 edition of the large international exhibition, with one of those being the Japanese city of Osaka, which is also vying to host one of its homeland’s first casinos.

Mr. Le Marie’s comments came after French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reported that Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had informed the Bureau International des Expositions, which organizes the quinquennial event, that his country would drop its bid over financial concerns.

France (and its capital Paris, in particular) is set to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics. The country has decided that a third large-scale event could put too much pressure on its coffers.

France’s withdrawal from the 2025 World Expo host competition could be good news for Osaka and its own bid to host the major event as well as one of Japan’s first casino resorts. Here it is important to note that the two possibilities have become strongly connected over the past several months.

Osaka’s has proposed to host the 2025 World Expo on the man-made Yumeshima Island. The city is yet to build the necessary infrastructure to the proposed site, but given its artificial nature, city authorities have pointed out that they believe construction work would be completed on time for the world fair.

What Does France’s Withdrawal Mean for Osaka’s Ambitions?

France dropping from the bidding process means that Osaka now has just two competitors in the 2025 World Expo race, the Azerbaijani capital Baku and the Russian city of Ekaterinburg. The Japanese city has also expressed interest in hosting one of Japan’s first integrated resorts with a casino floor.

The Japanese government approved a bill that legalized casino gambling in late 2016. Politicians now need to pass a separate legislative piece that will set the terms, under which the nation’s casino industry will be regulated. It will also determine the preferred locations for the casino resorts. That second casino bill was supposed to be voted on by the end of 2017, but political turmoils that culminated in a snap election in the fall delayed the process.

The Japanese Diet’s ordinary session began today and it is believed that the casino legalization and regulation process is high on the legislature’s agenda.

If Osaka wins one of the casino licenses to be issued as well as the bid for hosting the 2025 World Expo, city authorities will look to open the gambling venue before the start of the world fair. The city will thus have an excellent opportunity to capitalize on what its integrated resort will be offering and attract even greater tourist flow over the course of the World Expo.

As per Japan’s bid for the show, it will take place from May 3 to November 3, 2025. The event is expected to attract 28 million visitors to Osaka, if the city wins the bid. A casino resort with attractions of diverse nature could increase tourism figures significantly.

City officials have previously pointed out that the Yumeshima Island could also host a potential integrated resort, which would mean that the artificially built island could become a major tourism and business center, particularly during the World Expo and the years leading to it.

That potential was spotted by some of the world’s largest casino companies, including Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Lawrence Ho, Chairman of the Hong Kong-headquartered casino developer and operator, said last year in an interview with Bloomberg that Osaka was his preferred location for an integrated resort with a gaming resort, if his company won a casino license.

Last fall, Melco announced its partnership with the 2025 Japan World Expo Committee and its support for Japan and Osaka’s bid to host the event. Several other major gambling operators also confirmed their support, with some of those being Florida-based Hard Rock International and Las Vegas giant MGM Resorts International.

The Bureau International des Expositions will announce the winning bidder for the 2025 World Expo in November 2018. While France’s withdrawal does not necessarily mean good news for Osaka, the fact that the city now has just two competitors in addition to the growing support from major international corporations is certainly at least a big confidence booster.

Ben Yu was the player to collect the largest chip stack at the end of Day 2 of the ongoing WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship. The player, a WPT regular, bagged and tagged 1.382 million last night to top the chip counts leaderboard heading into Day 3.

Yu has more than $2.2 million in live tournament earnings. His portfolio of career accomplishments includes two WSOP gold bracelets, the second of which the player won last summer. He topped the field of the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship for $232,738. The player captured his first WSOP piece of gold in 2015, when he won another $10,000 buy-in tournament – the Limit Hold’em Championship.

Yu has not won a WPT title yet, but this was not due to lack of trying, the player once came very close to capturing one. During the 2015 edition of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Yu finished third in the $10,400 Championship. He scooped a $607,433 payout from the prize pool, which actually became his largest ever cash collected from a live tournament.

Yu is leading all 53 survivors from Day 2 into the tournament’s next day of play. Building his stack, the player eliminated quite some notables. Sean Winter was one of the players to fall victims to Yu on his way to the chip lead.

Other Notable Day 2 Survivors

Joseph Couden, who started Day 2 of the event as the chip leader, ended the day second in chips. The player is following Yu closely with 1.339 million. Qasem Jamhour (1.284 million), former WPT Main Tour Main Event winner Andjelko Andrejevic (1.023 million), Mike Chiappetta (1.021 million), and Nick Schwarmann (1.017 million) were the other players who passed the one million mark on Sunday.

Former WPT champions Matas Cimbolas, Jason Brin, and Mohsin Charania also made it through the day. Other notables who will return at the host venue, Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, include former WPT Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger, German poker star Rainer Kempe, and Sam DeSilva.

This year’s WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open $3,500 Main Event attracted a field of 911 entries. Day 2 of the event began with 343 survivors and they were reduced to just 53 hopefuls by the end of Day 2 action on Sunday. The Championship featured a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million, which was exceeded to reach $2,915,200. Day 2 of the event saw the bubble burst. Mark Cole, who was eliminated in 114th place, was the first player to leave the tournament with a payout.

Each of the 53 survivors is guaranteed a minimum cash of $10,006, when they return for Day 3 action a the host casino. Play is set to resume today at noon local time.

The tournament is set to be completed on January 24, when the official six-handed final table will be played. Each of the six finalists is guaranteed a six-figure payout. However, they will all certainly vie for the first-place prize of $511,604.

Brian Altman won the latest edition of the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship. The event took place back in 2015. Altman beat a field of 1,027 entries to scoop a first-place prize of $723,008 for his victory.

Day 1B of the ongoing WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship repeated the success of the first starting flight of the $3,500 buy-in tournament. A total of 464 entries joined the event on Day 1A on Friday, and 447 more entered it on Day 1B, played on Saturday at the host venue Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Joseph Couden emerged the overnight chip leader after the ten levels scheduled for the day were played. The player will actually return for Day 2 of the tournament as the one to lead all survivors from the two starting flights with his stack of 342,500 in chips.

Couden has live tournament earnings of over $1.3 million. However, he has not won a WPT event so far. He scored his best result in the series during its eleventh season, when he finished seventh in the WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, good for a payout of $47,215.

If the player maintains his Day 1B momentum, he could well become this year’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open champion. Couden generally prefers playing cash game poker to tournaments. He even opted for a Day 1B entry in the $3,500 Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Casino because he was playing cash games on Friday at the time when the Day 1A starting flight was played.

Couden doubled up shortly after the beginning of his participation in the event, and that helped him quite a lot in building his momentum and his stack. The player is leading a field of 343 survivors from Days 1A and 1B.

A Little More about the $3,500 Main Event

With Days 1A and 1B now being complete, it can be said that the 2018 edition of the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open attracted a massive field of 911 entries. They generated an overall prize pool of $2,915,200, or well beyond the guaranteed prize pool of $2 million.

The top 114 finishers will receive a share of the money with min-cashes starting from $5,858. However, all remaining participants will surely go for the first-place prize of $511,604 and the tournament trophy. The champion will also receive an automatic entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.

Day 2 action is set to resume today at noon local time. Organizers believe that the money bubble will burst at some point throughout the day.

Joining Couden at the tables of Seminole Hard Rock Casino, we will see Cong Pham, Bobby Suer, and Sam DeSilva from Day 1B, and former WPT Main Tour Main Event champs Darren Elias, who is vying for a record title number four, Matas Cimbolas, and Stefan Schillhabel from Day 1A. Schillhabel won the $50,000 buy-in Lucky Hearts Poker Open Super High Roller mere days ago, and will certainly be keen to lock another major title from the festival.

The WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship completed its Day 1A on Friday night after ten one-hour levels were played at the host venue, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The first day of action was utter success, as it saw 464 entries buy into the tournament.

The $3,500 buy-in event features a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million which was nearly reached on Friday. If Day 1B sees the same and even bigger flow of players willing to join the field, the prize pool will certainly go well beyond the guaranteed money.

Of the 464 entries, only 176 survived through all ten levels to bag and tag for the night. They will return at the host venue on Sunday to play Day 2 on the tournament’s schedule. The Day 1A survivors were topped by Brad Albrinck.

The player accumulated a stack of 236,800 on Friday. He passed the 200,000 chip mark late in the day, after winning an all-in confrontation against a fellow contender at his table. It then did not take long before Albrinck emerged the chip leader.

The player currently has more than $1 million in live tournament winnings. He has accumulated those over the course of the past decade and from as many as 58 live tournaments, according to his HendonMob page. Albrinck scored his largest live cash in late 2016, when he topped the field of the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,675 Main Event. The player collected $275,877 for his performance.

Who Else Survived Day 1A?

Day 1A of the $3,500 Main Event saw quite some poker stars playing at the tables of the host casinos. Former WPT champions Darren Elias, Matas Cimbolas, and Stefan Schillhabel were among those to make it through the day.

Here it is interesting to note that Schillhabel is coming fresh from a win in the $50,000 buy-in Super High Roller, which took place a few days ago as part of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open festival. The player topped a 25-strong field to collect nearly $500,000.

Other notables to appear on Day 2 of the Championship event include Isaac Haxton, Darryll Fish, Rainer Kempe, and Byron Kaverman. On the other hand, WPT’s very own Tony Dunst, Erik Seidel, and Jason Mercier, who recently parted ways with PokerStars as part of the poker room’s Team Pro, were failed to make it through Day 1A. However, they will all still be able to re-enter the tournament.

Day 1B is set to be played today at the host venue. A total of ten one-hour levels will be played. Registration for the tournament will remain open up until the beginning of Day 2, so the field is likely to expand considerably. This also means that the final prize pool and the places paid will be announced by organizers sometime on Day 2 of the event.

William Hill’s Possible Sale of Australian Assets Would Mean Exodus from the Country

A quick throwback to the UK gambling operator William Hill’s decision to make a multi-million acquisition of three Australian bookmakers four years ago makes it now look doomed from the start. The beginning of the week saw the British betting giant reveal it has been considering to dispose of its Australian assets. Almost three years […]

MGM Springfield Starts Training Courses for Future Casino Employees in Late February

MGM Springfield, the $950-plus-million integrated resort currently under construction in Springfield, Massachusetts, will begin training prospective table game dealers in late February, Connecticut news outlet the Hartford Courant reported.

Las Vegas casino operator MGM Resorts International is planning to open its latest hotel and casino property in September. It has already begun seeking staff for the resort, which will be the first of its kind in the state of Massachusetts.

It has recently become clear that training courses for table game dealers will begin on February 26 and will run through the end of July. MGM Springfield together with the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute will be training interested individuals for popular table games that will be featured at the resort’s casino floor, including baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and poker.

The classes will come at prices ranging between $199 and $599 per individual class. MGM Springfield has announced that people who enroll for and complete two table game classes will automatically qualify for an interview with MGM Springfield.

To provide interested individuals with more information about the upcoming start of the table game courses, MGM Springfield will hold free information sessions at its recently opened Career Center in downtown Springfield. The sessions will take place on January 20, January 24, February 3, February 7, February 14, and February 16. More information about these could be found on the official website of the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute.

MGM Springfield is expected to begin hiring table game dealers this summer. Casino officials have previously said that 450 people will be hired to run the gambling venue’s gaming tables.

MGM Gears Up for New Casino Opening

MGM Springfield will be the first casino resort to open doors in Massachusetts after commercial casino gambling was legalized in the state in 2013. The $950-million property is currently being built in downtown Springfield. It will occupy three blocks in the central part of the city and will spread across 2 million square feet of space.

It will feature a 125,000-square-foot casino with both slot machine and table games. The resort will further include a 250-room boutique hotel, a movie theater, a bowling venue, and a number of other attractions for both gaming and non-gaming visitors. Food and beverage facilities will also be part of the major project.

Casino News Daily reported earlier this week that MGM Springfield has recently opened its corporate offices in its host city. As many as 50 employees have already moved into the building and 250 more are expected to join them in the coming months. The new casino resort’s corporate offices are located in an 11-story downtown Springfield building, which was originally built in 1929.

MGM Springfield is scheduled to open doors this September. Officials at the resort have recently pointed out that construction work is progressing on schedule.